All the latest news for Brighton and Hove Albion and across the Premier League
Two of Brighton’s August fixtures have changed as they have been selected for coverage by Sky Sports.
Fabian Hurzeler’s men will now travel to Everton on Sunday 24 August, kick off 2pm. It will be the first ever Premier League match at Everton’s brand new Hill Dickinson Stadium.
Albion’s home game against Manchester City will take place on Sunday 31 August, kick off 2pm. Ticket information for both matches will be confirmed as soon as possible.
Italian international Diego Coppola joined Brighton from Hellas Veronaplaceholder image
Italian international Diego Coppola joined Brighton from Hellas Verona
Diego Coppola in dreamland as Everton and Man City await
One player hoping to make an immediate impact in the first month of the season is new Brighton signing Diego Coppola. The Italian international defender joined last month for around £10m from Serie A outfit Hella Verona.
The 21-year-old said: “I can't wait to play the first matches in the Premier League, for a lot of Italian players the Premier League is like a dream.
“We have seen the Premier League on television since we were kids, so it’s like a dream come true for me.
“I think that the Premier League fits me well. But you know, I have never played against another Premier League team. I never played in the Premier League, so it's new thing for me, but I'm confident and I think I can do well.”
It’s been a busy summer for Diego, who made his Italy senior debut last month.
“June was a quite an interesting month. I had my first call up to the national team of Italy, I made my debut and after that I made my second appearance.
"Then I went to the U21 Euros, then I was signed by Brighton, so I’ve not had much of a rest, but it's okay. In this case, I'm okay to not have rest!
“I can't wait to start training and to meet everyone. I already met a few guys that we were having lunch with. I'm just very happy to be here.”
‘Dismayed’ Palace consider appeal
Crystal Palace have confirmed they are considering an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) after being demoted to the Conference League for breaching UEFA’s rules on multi-club ownership.
Palace qualified for the Europa League thanks to their FA Cup final victory over Manchester City in May, but missed a March 1 deadline to demonstrate that American co-owner John Textor, also a part-owner at Lyon, had no control or influence over more than one club in the same competition.
UEFA’s Club Financial Control Body (CFCB) determined that Textor’s interest in both Palace and Lyon meant only one of the clubs could enter the Europa League, with Lyon’s higher league position edging out Palace.
A Palace statement read: “Crystal Palace FC are extremely dismayed by UEFA’s decision to exclude the club from the Europa League.
“It’s clear for everyone to see that we are not part of a multi-club operation and never have been. Further with the completion of the sale of Eagle football’s shareholding to Woody Johnson there will be zero possibility of a conflict of interest once the competition begins.
“We will continue to press our case and work with UEFA to achieve the fair and just outcome so that we may take our rightful place in the Europa League, as well as taking legal advice to consider our options, including an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).”
Beram Kayal retires
Meanwhile, former Albion star Beram Kayal called time on his playing career.
The Israel international made 131 appearances for Albion after joining in January 2015, and was a part of the squad that won promotion to the Premier League in 2017.
The midfielder joined from Celtic, having previously appeared for Maccabi Haifa.
Kayal made his Premier League debut under Chris Hughton in December 2017, before scoring his first top-tier goal for us in a 1-0 win at Newcastle United in October 2018, having set up Glenn Murray’s winner at West Ham in the previous match.
The 37-year-old went onto play for Charlton Athletic and Bnei Sakhnin, while he also represented his country on 47 occasions.
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